The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Brown to OU

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Just got the news from ESPN’s Joe Schad that Penn State senior Justin Brown, the Nittany Lions’ most experienced wide receiver, has definitely made the commitment to transfer to Oklahoma. ????? Brown has a good chance to be a standout on a very good team, as he will be the largest receiver on the team at 6-3, 210. ????? ???????? ????? He had 35 catches for 517 yards and two touchdowns last season.

According to a Tweet by Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with Brown’s departure, the four most experienced receivers on the Penn State roster have 13 career catches for 207 yards and 0 touchdowns.

It’s looking pretty ragtag for offense in the fall. I just hope we don’t have any 6-4 Iowa games.

Says ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg:

Several Penn State fans who responded to me on Twitter tonight pointed out Brown’s dropped passes and inconsistent play last season. That’s true to an extent, but the team still would have benefited from having a senior with 19 career starts. He was the only Lions player to record at least one reception in every game last season.

Losing only Brown wouldn’t sting Penn State too much. But the cumulative effect of losing Brown, Redd and standout kicker/punter Anthony Fera could cripple a unit that already had question marks before the sanctions hit, including a giant one at quarterback.

Redd, Fera and Brown accounted for 116 of Penn State’s 251 points in 2011. No returnee accounted for more than 12 points last year. ???? ???? ??? ??? ????

As we’ve all too often expected from this team, the defense will have to do a significant amount of scoring in addition to doing its primary job well.

The Turkey wishes the best of luck to Justin Brown in his new uniform.

ESPN story.

Joyner on STEP Program

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Tim Curley’s and Guido d’Elia’s pride and joy, the STEP program, could get some needed changes under the Joyner regime at Penn State Athletics.

The euphemistically ironic acronym STEP stands for Seat Transfer & Equity Plan, which was anything but equitable in the minds of many fans.

“Let’s say this: We’ve actually talked to some alums and supporters that have some ideas about it,” he said of the program. “We’re listening to them, and it was our intention to take a very strong look at the STEP program. We didn’t have enough time this year because of the way things unfolded. … But it’s been my intention to relook at the STEP program anyway for the next season.

“Now we’ll relook at the STEP program based on what we know the world is right now. So I don’t know what we’ll do, if anything, but we’re going to relook at it.”

Any changes would be implemented no earlier than the 2013 football season.

Many season ticket holders were pissed off when STEP was announced, and the students got screwed big time, with their primo seats being swapped with a much less desirable end zone location.

Last year, the first season in which STEP existed, had the smallest average attendance since Beaver Stadium was expanded in 2001.

This year, Penn State claims to have sold 85,000 season tickets.

With the program crippled by NCAA sanctions, how long can that last? How long can Penn State continue to sell seats at $400 and $600. Joyner needs to take a long, hard look at the details.

Bolden Saga Ends with First Defection

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Rob Bolden is off the roster and has been released from his scholarship at Penn State, after a less than smashing career at quarterback. Bolden made history by being the first freshman ever to start the opening game of a season under Joe Paterno and the first overall to do so at State for 100 years; now, he makes history being the first player to bolt under the relaxed transfer rules of the NCAA’s sanctions against the Nittany Lions.

Recall that Bolden had pouted after being replaced by Matt McGloin as the sort of, maybe, possible starter under Paterno. His performance never lived up to his hype. He wanted to transfer after that first season, but Paterno would not let him out of his commitment, stating that he would have as good a chance as anyone to earn the starting job back. ????? ??? ???? He just didn’t have the mojo to do it.

Coach Bill O’Brien tabbed him as third-stringer behind McGloin and Paul Jones, who both committed to staying at Penn State, at least for this first season of sanctions.

So, now, Bolden has been spotted sniffing around at LSU. The Times-Picayune reports that he is making an official visit this weekend.

LSU, huh? You would think that a top SEC school would be a little bit out of Bolden’s league. However, LSU is hurting for a backup quarterback behind Zach Mettenberger, as his two present backups are two redshirt freshmen who have never taken a college snap. ??? ????? ????? Bolden could be valuable for his real game experience. ????? ???? ??? ????

To this Turkey, Bolden never ever looked comfortable in the pocket. He couldn’t pass very well, and he couldn’t run very well. So, the Nittany Lions shouldn’t miss him very much.